When Ronny Chieng was writing the material for his new Netflix special “Love to Hate It” back in 2023, he included a few now prescient jokes about the MAGA movement. But back then, the idea that Donald Trump would somehow return to the White House wasn’t on anyone’s minds — so much so that he was advised to leave the jokes out.
“And at that point, it felt irrelevant,” Chieng says. “In fact, I got a note back from a comic whom I respect, and they were like, ‘when you went into the MAGA stuff, I just felt like, it’s totally irrelevant.’ He wasn’t being mean. He was just giving some honest feedback. And I was like, ‘Yeah, I can see why you would say that.’ But I really believed it was something I wanted to say. So I left it in, and it kept developing. And then it became its own thing. And then, lo and behold, it became relevant again.”
Chieng remains proud of his MAGA chunk, specifically because he feels it’s fair. “I’m kind of happy that if you feel that it’s relevant again, that means I think I did a decent job of making it pretty balanced,” he says. “It wasn’t too one sided, either way. I think people appreciated it not being too preachy, even if they agreed with me.
“But the times when it is political, I feel like I’m being quite centrist,” he adds. “I am making fun of MAGA. Sometimes, that centrist point of view on the internet, people get really angry at me for having that point of view, making fun of MAGA even a little bit. And I’m like, if you knew I was on ‘The Daily Show,’ you wouldn’t be angry about that at all, because this is actually more centrist than what I’ve been doing for nine years… People think that if you make fun of them, you’re against their whole world view. I think that’s one of the messages of my special, that just because you or anyone or me disagrees with one thing doesn’t mean that the whole world is against you. There’s still ways to come together, even if you disagree with specific things.”
Chieng wants to make it clear, however, that “Love to Hate It” — now available on Netflix, his third stand-up special for the streamer — is not overly political. Much of it centers on the deeply personal tale of what he and his wife experienced while trying to have a baby through the IVF process. The special has earned high marks from critics, and was even named best stand-up special of the year by the New York Times.
“People are telling me this is more personal, which I appreciate, and it is very personal, but I always feel like every special I do is very personal,” he says. “I kind of write my comedy from personal experiences. I guess this is personal in a way that people can relate to, This one, I just wanted to have a killer, great comedy, front to back. I wanted it to be something that, every bit could be something I could open and close a show with. That’s the Patrice O’Neal kind of standard.”
“Love to Hate It” was shot at the Hawai’i Theatre in Honolulu during a five-night run. The islands have become a bit of a home-away-from-home for Chieng after having lived there while shooting Disney+’s “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.”
“In Hawai’i, they have a natural appreciation and affiliation with live performing,” Chieng says. “They love it there. They love singing, they love dancing, live performance. And by extension, standup, especially when it’s from Asian people. Jo Koy is a good example.”
Chieng also notes the history of Hawai’i comics like Rap Reiplinger, Andy Bumatai and Frank DeLima. “They have a history of these Hawaiian comedians there. I actually bought some vintage vinyl from these old school Hawaiian comics. They develop this almost their own style of nightclub performing, singing and stand-up comedy, performing at hotels. I’m very lucky that I felt a very strong connection with Hawai’i after filming there for two seasons. I felt like Hawai’i always returned the energy that I gave it. And so when I’m there, I feel hometown vibes.”
Meanwhile, Chieng can currently be seen in Season 1 of the Hulu series “Interior Chinatown,” opposite Jimmy O. Yang and Chloe Bennet. The show, exec produced by Taika Waititi (who directed the first episode), is still awaiting word on a second season.
“It’s fair to say we all want to do more,” Chieng says. “I hope people give it a chance. I think it’s worth telling people the surface level of the show, which is what you see in the trailer, is literally the very surface of the show. The real show is about these characters slowly becoming aware that they’re in a TV show. They’re questioning the reality of the show and why it’s made in this way. That, to me, is a very compelling idea. It’s the perfect meta show.”
As 2025 begins, Chieng continues on “The Daily Show” as an integral part of the lineup — as the show’s correspondents all continue to take weekly turns at the desk as Jon Stewart remains the Monday-only host.
“I think the format is actually working out quite well for everybody, because the division of responsibilities is perfect,” he says.
So, is Chieng dreading what the return of a Trump administration might mean for his “Daily Show” workload? “People been asking me that, but, like, we had him for four years,” he says.
Of course, that might have been “Trump lite” compared to the chaos this new administration is promising to sew. “He himself is saying that this is going to be more hardcore,” Chieng says. “But I don’t know. We had him for four years. Everything survived, with some exceptions. So that’s my guiding light, through just historical data. But I reserve the right to change my mind in January, depending on how stuff is going. As of right now, I don’t know. I’m still this naive, believing in American institutions. Maybe I’m just the only one left!”
English (US) ·